Switching It Up
by Zara
Summary: Based off a plot bunny I got - Hermione goes to America and has a chat with an American girl about all the exchange students that have been being sent over recently . . .


Title: Switching It Up . . .

Summary: Based off a plot bunny I got - Hermione goes to America and has a chat with an American girl about all the exchange students that have been being sent over recently . . .

Disclaimer: There's a lot in this fic that doesn't belong to me. For the most part it belongs to JK Rowling. Also, this fic, like many other things in life, could be construed as offensive. Aaaaand I lack the books and all, being cooped up in a college dorm at the moment. You have been warned.

* * *

As the school term draws to a close, Hogwarts students scatter off to various and sundry summer retreats. Three of those students huddle together as they walk to the platform, Ron between Harry and Hermione.

"Maybe you could come visit over the summer, Harry," Ron suggested. "I'm sure Mum would love to have you!"

"I just wish I didn't have to go back to the Dursleys."

"Now Harry, you know what Professor Dumbledore said," Hermione scolded, sounding like her old self for a moment.

Harry forced himself to smile, for her sake. "I know."

"I'll miss you both terribly." On an impulse, Hermione leaned over to peck Ron on the cheek, which made him blush bright red, and then nipped over ot give Harry a quick hug.

"What's that all about? You can come visit too, you know," Ron managed to stammer out.

Hermione shook her head. "No. I've decided to go spend the summer abroad, in America."

At those words, Harry and Ron froze in their tracks. Hermione stopped as well, spinning to face both of them.

"You mean . . . there . . . with _them_?" Ron's face looked rather green now.

Harry stared at Hermione. "I thought you were the one with sense around here."

"They can't all be that bad, can they?"

Silence greeted her.

"Oh come _on_, you two. Just because all those . . . well, it's an opportunity to broaden my horizons. Not to mention the only chance I'll get to take some extra courses in the summer. Really, I don't see why Hogwarts doesn't offer them - come on, or we'll miss the train."

As Hermione began to stride purposefully towards the Hogwarts Express, Harry and Ron remained rooted to the spot. "Bloody hell," said Ron. "She's gone completely mad."

Harry looked at him and opened his mouth, but then the train whistle sounded. "Come on; we'd better catch up."

* * *

At the airport, Hermione was starting to have some serious misgivings. Maybe Ron and Harry were right; maybe it was a crazy idea to go to America. But as a Gryffindor, she was not about to be ruled by fear - not even when it came to _them_. Of course, once she got there - once it started happening - it was going to be hard to fight back.

During the airplane ride, she sipped at the free soda and scanned the books that had been shipped over for her. At least the courses looked all right - not quite up to Hogwarts standards, which half-surprised her, but there were a couple fascinating ones from the American perspective that looked like they would offer an interesting point of view. The flight attendants and other passengers were all comfortingly unremarkable, save for the little girl who threw a screaming fit mid-flight and the hassled-looking young woman trying to calm her. Hermione had packed some chocolate bars, among other things, in her carry-on, and the offering of one of those placated the child and won her a grateful smile from the young mother. Face covered in chocolate, the little girl fell asleep, leaving her mother to converse with Hermione, who chose to keep the woman company rather than return to her beloved books. Their conversation was comfortably unnotable.

A teenaged girl was waiting at the terminal holding up a posterboard, "Hermiony Granger" hastily scrawled in thick marker. Hermione glanced over the girl before making her way over; she was somewhat pudgy and had unkempt frizzy hair, and kept darting nervous little glances around the terminal.

Not so bad. At least, not yet. Taking a deep breath - expecting to be ambused at any moment by a large-breasted wonder-girl - Hermione strode towards the girl who was waiting for her. No ambushes, and when she got to within five feet the girl finally noticed her purposeful stride. "Oh! Hello, are you . . ."

"I'm Hermione Granger, from Hogwarts. I saw your sign." Hermione held out her hand.

The girl reached out and wrapped her hand around Hermione's, and inwardly Hermione winced at the feel of it - fleshy and sweaty - but she was too composed to let it show. "I'm Gertrude Stevenson, from Plaitins Academy. Did the sign help? They have them all the time - my aunt says, anyway. I never flew before. Was flying scary? I think I'd get sick. I'm never good with heights. There's a lot of things I'm not good with." She started walking towards the luggage terminal as she talked.

"It did help, yes." Hermione chose not to mention the spelling for the moment.

Before she could continue answering questions, Gertrude was babbling again. "Hermione's a weird name. How did you get it? It's not as bad as Gertrude though. I don't really like my name, but it's okay, because at least it's not something like . . . well, I'm not going to say right now."

"Hermione's a proper name in Britain. It's spelled with an "e" by the way."

"Oh no! I knew I'd get something like that wrong. Mom told me not to hurry. She said do it last night. Take my time. Read the thingy. The paper they gave me. But I just wrote it as I was dashing out the door - do you have a lot of luggage? Mom says if you do to get a cab. She gave me money. If there's not a lot we could walk. You're staying with us until the term's on. Mom's so excited - she saw your Headmaster at some wizarding convention or something once. Hasn't shut up about it since."

"Do you go to Plaitains?"

"Oh yeah. I'm not too good at it, mostly. The magic thing, I mean. I have to take a few remedial things in the summer." She wrinkled her nose.

"Oh. Well, maybe I could help you with some things."

"Maybe. Mom's hoping you'll be a good role model. I told her, though, we can't get as much done with _them_. And then she said don't worry about it, the admin's sending them to Hogwarts to get taken care of. Which isn't really fair, because Hogwarts sends good kids back. Like you. I keep getting scared I'll turn into one of _them_. I'd rather stay in summer remedial forever."

"One of them?" Hermione spotted her trunk, grabbed ahold of it and swung it off the the carrier. "All set. We can walk."

"How do you go to Hogwarts and not notice _them_?"

"The exchange students you're always sending over? The horrid ones?"

"Yeah. Them."

"Oh blimey. Why would you turn into one of them?"

"Because - well, one of my best friends was one of them. Helga. Basically like me. Then all of a sudden, blammo. She's one of them."

"I don't remember a Helga . . ."

"Do you remember an Astenya Aestrella Rose McGillian?"

"Oh lord yes. She had Ron and Harry eating from her hands, turned Professor Snape into a bullfrog, and had Draco swooning whenever she came in the room. Not to mention made me into one of the meanest people I've ever met, and such a little snitch - worse than my first couple weeks. I told on people who breathed wrong. And McGonagall listened to me, and came up with horrid punishments . . ."

"And all her angst about how we all hated her?"

"Oh yes. Absolutely."

"And we _all_ got jealous of her. I hate it when they do that."

"And they make you into such a bad person . . ."

"Yeah. Ugh. She was such a good person before that - it's a shame. I'm sorry you had to see - them all like that, really."

"So that's not what your school is like?"

"No. Actually, it's rather boring, comparitively. We go to school, take courses, study. Sometimes we'll have a pizza in, or a little field trip, or something. There's little day to day things. Nothing to write a news article about. People are generally nondescipt, maybe a bit quirky, but . . . none of _them_. When _they_ emerge, they get shipped straight out. To Hogwarts." Gertrude paused to shudder. "It's not like we could stop them if we wanted to. Something about Hogwarts - _they_ can't resist it. So there's no choice, really - none of us have developed the will to fight them."

"It's said that no one has, fully," Hermione replied in a vaguely comforting tone. "I've been trying to devise something protective, something against them."

"Maybe you could be able to turn them back. Into something closer to the rest of us. Maybe there's hope."

Hermione looked thoughtful for a long moment. "You might be right. It would be a complicated charm - but I'm sure I could ask the professors for help . . ."

* * *

Feel free to comment/flame/post to message boards and mock as you like. If you do post somewhere to mock, though, I would like a link, so I can see the mockery and maybe learn something. Yes, I'm weird. I know it, too. 


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